The Good, the Bad, and the Really weird
by Valrygrl
Summary: A woman with a secret hides out at the mansion. Keep reading, its getting better!
1. Default Chapter

Annissa threw her head back as the wind whistled through her hair and basked in the sun shining on her face. She had an ominous feeling this would be the last time for a long time she would be able to do this, and especially in this car. The open road before her beckoned like a long lost friend and she opened the Mustang up, pushing triple digits as she wound through its intricate turns. Taking deep breaths of fresh air, she tried to take it all in; the hum of air blowing past her car, the warm sunlight as it baked her skin, the feel of the wind as it snatched tendrils of hair and blew them backwards. Only God knew if she would get to do this again, and He wasn't telling her anything. If He was, she wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place. Thankfully, a well placed call to an old friend and a couple favors later she had a place to live and survive, but everything she had ever known was now gone. She wasn't who she had been and she might never be again.  
  
The drive was far too short for her liking and before she knew it, a huge house loomed in front of her. She glanced down at the address on the slip of paper beside her and then back up at the mansion that sprawled across the grounds before her. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all. Pulling a backpack from the backseat, she slung the bag carelessly over her shoulder and pushed her sunglasses onto her head before approaching the front door. Dr. McCoy had informed her he would be out of town when she arrived, but that the others had been warned of her arrival and she would have a job waiting when she got there. Anissa prayed that information had been passed on, otherwise things could be... uncomfortable at best. Gathering her courage up she pressed the small round doorbell to the left of the door and listened as it clanged loudly inside. For a moment she heard nothing. Then, the unmistakable sound of feet pounding and voices clamoring to get the door first. A lot of feet. Anissa tensed, almost bracing herself as the door flew open and 3 sets of eyes peered at her.  
  
"What do you want?" blue eyes topped with a mop of blonde hair regarded her frostily while the raven haired girl at his side rolled her eyes  
  
"Excuse him, he thinks he's in charge. How can we help you?" she asked and then yelped as blue eyes dug his elbow into her ribs. Anissa stifled a smile and inquired  
  
"I'm looking for Charles Xavier...He's expecting me"  
  
"Of course, follow us" the third child, a mouse haired and brown eyed boy responded, opening the door wide and beckoning her in. The blonde gave his companions dirty looks and then folded his arms across his chest, spreading his legs in as foreboding a stance a 13 year old could muster.  
  
"What's your name?" he demanded  
  
"Anissa Jones" she responded, a bit chagrinned that the lie slipped off her tongue as easily as it did. The things we do for safety her mind mumbled.  
  
"What's your business with Professor Xavier?" Professor? Oh...Hank had said he lived at a school. Xavier must be the head master.  
  
"I'm here in regards to a job"  
  
"What are you kids doing up here?" a voice boomed from within the house and within moments a face accompanied it. Anissa smiled as she recognized it from various TV appearences, whether they had been intentional or not. His ruby glasses gave him away. As they rested their gaze on Anissa a soft smile creased his face and he reached out a hand, "You must be Anissa Jones. Welcome to our school. I'm Scott"  
  
Anissa took his hand in her own and shook it firmly, "Nice to meet you Scott. I can't tell you how relieved I am that someone knows why I'm here" His grin broadened and he gestured for her to come inside. Hesitantly Anissa followed him inside the expansive doors and caught her breath at the inside of the mansion. If it looked huge on the outside, it looked almost twice as big on the inside. It was incredible! The dark wood paneling, the lengthy halls...Even the foyer and room attached to the front entrance were vast and lavishly decorated. It looked like a museum she mused silently.  
  
"Mon Deu!" a voice exclaimed from behind her, "Would you look at dat?" Angie turned around in surprise, not realising there had been someone else in the room. The tall stranger was gaping out the front door at her convertible. She smiled, she loved hearing that response. That car was her baby, she'd spent years rebuilding and renovating it to her own specifications. Whenever she heard someone react that way, she couldn't help but feel a little smug.  
  
"Hands off Remy" Scott rumbled from her side. She felt him shift into a defensive position. How cute, he thought the stranger could steal her car. She chuckled inwardly, a friend of hers was a professional car thief who owed her a few favors and had helped her design her security system. Outside of an alarm, there were several "lines of defense" as she jokingly called them that would ascertain no one could take off with it without her knowing.  
  
"Is it my birtday? Cus dat is one FINE present" Remy continued. Anissa cleared her throat.  
  
"Hate to burst your bubble hun, but that's all mine" The tall man turned and pinned a look on her, his red eyes piercing into her own dark green  
  
"Dat? Dat's no car for a lady like you" he said, his voice smoothing into a honeyed tone. Anissa arched an eyebrow and shifted her weight onto one hip  
  
"First off, I never said I was a lady. And secondly, I designed that car so it had the power under its hood that every man I ever knew was lacking" with a smirk she continued, "After all, I can sit on it and it doesn't try and pick me up. It just takes me where I need to go" Scott guffawed beside her and she gauged the man before her's reaction. He studied her closely for a moment before his face broke out into a smile  
  
"You're alright Chere" he said as he held out a hand. Anissa smiled back and shook his hand, "De name's Gambit but you can call me Remy"  
  
"Anissa" she replied and chuckled as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand, "Well, at least I know who the resident flirt is" She felt Scott shift beside her again and removed her hand from where it rested, "A pleasure meeting you, I'm sure. We'll have to do it again sometime"  
  
"Mmmm, I thin so chere" Somehow she managed to not roll her eyes and turned back to Scott  
  
"Lead on" she said, following him through the mansion. Its was unbelievable how large the house was turning out to be and after a few corners and 2 or three doors Anissa was pretty sure she would never find her way back out. Finally they stopped at a large wooden door and Scott tapped on it lightly before pushing it open  
  
"Professor? Our guest is here" he said to someone inside. Pushing the door all the way open Anissa followed him inside and was greeted by an older man in a wheel chair. Her first thought was "How did he get there?" but her second caused her to close all the doors in her mind. His bright blue eyes were friendly, but intense and she had the feeling he knew more than he projected. She was often accused of doing the same thing.  
  
"Good afternoon Miss Jones" he said to her, "Its a pleasure to finally meet you. Hank's told us a lot about you" Anissa smiled, 'not as much as you think' her mind muttered.  
  
"Pleasure to meet you too....Professor?"  
  
"Oh, pardon my thoughtlessness. Charles Xavier. Most of the residents refer to me as Professor, but any derivation of my name seems to go when I'm needed" he responded with a playful grin and Anissa responded in kind. 'Okay, so the old guys not a stiff. This could be good', "Now, Hank explained you were looking for a job and some of what you do. We don't have a large stable here, but it is sizable and we could use some professional help. That is, if you're up to it" Anissa nodded affirmatively  
  
"Its been my life for as long as I can remember, I'm more than happy to keep doing it" He nodded at her and she felt a bit chagrined. Half truths, whole lies, she hated doing all this.  
  
"Wonderful. Ah" he seemed hesitant for a moment, "I don't know how much Hank has told you about us...."  
  
"Some. He told me he lived at a school. Obviously I know he's a mutant, obviously several of your students here are" she responded by nodding towards Scott who stood on the other side of the room. Scott blushed slightly but nodded his consent.  
  
"Quite frankly....All are" responded the Professor. Anissa nodded  
  
"Ok"  
  
"Thats not a problem?"  
  
"If I might wax theological for a moment sir, in my house I was brought up with two rules" she responded, her dark green eyes gazing directly into the Prof's intelligent blue, "Number one was God doesn't make mistakes. Number two was 'Judge not lest ye be judged'. Now I know a lot of blowhards out there who say the same thing but they tend to forget the meaning behind those statements. I may not be a mutant, but I'm not black either and why should I be a bigot if I'm not racist?" The Professor smiled at her response.  
  
"Good answer. Do you usually respond that way?" Anissa couldn't help her cheeky reply, she was just a smartass by nature  
  
"Actually, a good 'fuck off' normally suffices" Scott chuckled over in the corner as did the Professor briefly.  
  
"I think you'll fit in around here just fine. I'd like to show you the school, but first I'd like to do a mental scan. It will be painless and brief. Do you have any problems with that?" Anissa shook her head even as she secured the doors she didn't want opened in her mind. Hank has taught her a few tricks over the years as to how to guide telepaths without them knowing it. She suspected even the Prof didn't know he was getting a tour when he looked into Hank's mind. As she stood there she felt something like cool water running over through her mind and she shivered involuntarily. A small frown appeared on the Professor's face but all he asked was  
  
"You felt that?"  
  
"I usually do. I've had several telepaths try and scan me. Its actually quite the relief, I don't have to worry about people barging in and taking what I don't want them too" Anissa had been particularily happy for her sensitivity when things started to go bad at her last job. She had to be on top of herself 24/7 to make sure no one got what she didn't want to give. When she could no longer sleep she knew she had to do something about it and called Hank. The Professor nodded and then floated his hover chair across the floor and towards his door  
  
"Well, shall we go?"  
  
"Lead the way" she answered. 


	2. First exchange

Anissa found she was having flashbacks to her first tour of her University campus as she trekked after the Professor in his hover chair. In fact, she was beginning to feel a bit resentful that he could hover and she had to walk across the many, many, many acres that made up the school. She'd seen the inside, she'd seen the outside, she'd seen the medlab and boathouse and woods and everything in between and she was REALLY wishing she had put on hiking boots instead of her sandals that morning. Of course, then again, she didn't HAVE hiking boots so that made the entire scenario even more frustrating. She had loafers and sandals and dress shoes and boots that were 4 inches high and laced up her calves, but no hiking boots. She stumbled on a rock and cursed softly as it jammed into her toe.  
  
"Are you alright?" the Professor's voice pulled her out of her musing and she managed a weak smile  
  
"Peachy" she responded. He didn't look like he was buying it, but he smiled none-the-less and nodded.  
  
"This is the stable. Like I said, its not very large. We have room for approximately 20 horses and only 12 stalls are filled. Not many of the students can afford their own, as you can imagine"  
  
Anissa nodded as she looked around the barn. It was rather cozy and the scent of warm horses and straw bedding wafted at her from within, beckoning her to enter. Those who didn't have the passion for horses would never understand, and those who did would never get over it. She stepped inside and glanced around a bit. Everything looked fairly clean and taken care of. All the stalls had a large window that opened to the outside, automatic waterers, and very clean stalls  
  
"We do have hired hands that come in every week" said the Professor, as if answering her thoughts  
  
"The children don't clean up?" she asked. He shook his head  
  
"Mostly they just stop in for a ride and take care of the horses" Anissa frowned, that would change. As they walked slowly down the aisle, the Professor gave her basic information on each horse and the way the facility was run, emphasizing feeding schedules and the location of arenas, trails and anything else she would find important. At the final stall he stopped and turned his chair towards the door, "This here...He's, ah, a special case. I don't know much about him. Hank brought him in when he was very young, close to four years ago now. He's got a lot of personality, and a stubborn streak a mile wide. Very intelligent, if I didn't know better I'd say he was thinking things through"  
  
Anissa turned to the door and caught her breath at the horse that stood inside. He was obviously a Freisan, a huge black horse known for their size, beauty and well, "blackness", but there was something more to him. Under a mass of black forelock, his eye peered at her with a very knowing expression. He was sizing her up she realized and at the same moment realized his eye was not equine in form. Instead, it resembled a human eye far too closely for her liking. A chill ran down her spine. She knew what he was. Reaching out she cautiously placed a hand on his roman nose and stared deep into his eye. She wished she were wrong.  
  
"Your quarters are over here. Its a bit plain, but I hope it will do. Theres a small kitchen, a bathroom and a space for you to sleep" Anissa snapped back to reality once more and looked into the room the Professor was pointing. It was actually much bigger than it sounded, but didn't even come close to her condo. 'Former condo', she reminded herself. She didn't own it anymore, much like she didn't own anything including her own life. She sighed deeply but smile for his benefit.  
  
"Its perfect, thank you" she looked back into his bright blue eyes. He was giving her that look again, the 'I know you're not telling me something but I'll let you slide' look. It made her very uneasy.  
  
"Well, I'll let you settle in then. If you need any help with bags or boxes just inform one of the men, they'll be more than happy to help I'm sure. Feel free to park your car in the garage, but don't forget to take your keys with you" he grimaced briefly, "Actually, I don't suppose it matters with some of the students, but nonetheless its probably safer. Plus, it'll give them something to keep busy on" he added with a rueful grin. Anissa smiled  
  
"Maybe they'll learn something" she responded. The Professor nodded and then bid her adieu before leaving her to get used to her new place. Anissa looked around herself at her "quarters" as he had called them. This was going to be different.  
  
Wolverine took a deep breath of the night air and sniffed, testing his abilities. He liked to do that sometimes, liked to pick out everything he could smell on the grounds. Most of it he knew by heart, but being able to identify everything comforted him. It told him he wasn't losing his powers as the years slipped by. Call it midlife crisis prevention he chuckled to himself. He sat in a small clearing in the woods and closed his eyes, emptying his mind of everything except for the immediate world around him. Slowly he let it seep in; there was the creek, there were the trees and the moss, a deer in the brush a little ways away, Jubilee was tucked up on the couch waiting for him, Ororo in her garden, Scott and Jean were making love in the boathouse, the horses in the stable, the.... What was that? He snorted and opened his eyes. There was something entirely new there. He unfolded himself from his position. Someone new was on the property and he intended to find out who it was.  
  
Anissa sighed as the hot water ran over her shoulders. She was so exhausted from her trip she just wanted to wash it all away. The past few months had been really hard on her. First came the suspicion, and then the secret conversations, followed by people she didn't know trying to probe her and find out what she DID know. When it finally came time to leave it all behind she had been relieved and scared at the same time. Everything she had worked so hard for was just being discarded like so much trash, it hurt like hell to let go. She sighed once more as she turned off the water and leaned against the cool wall for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Grabbing a towel as she exited the shower, Anissa wrapped it around her torso and held it in place with her arms, grabbing another to dry her wavy hair. She left the bathroom to enter her small bed area and froze as she heard a sound from the entrance. She stood silently for a few moments and then heard it again. It sounded like someone trying to get in.  
  
Anissa dropped the towel to her hair and reached for the holster draped across her headboard. She had learned how to shoot a gun long before this whole mess had happened, but over the past few weeks she'd been sharpening her skills. Any sane person would know not to cross her. The door creaked open and she grabbed the pistol out, her towel dropping from around herself as she pressed against a wall. Everything, even modesty, had a time and place. Slowly sneaking closer to the door she made her breathing shallower and her footsteps light so as not to alert the intruder. As she reached the end of the wall she jumped out, holding the gun firmly in her hands and pointing at the stranger  
  
"Identify yourself"  
  
Wolverine stalked to the stables silently, his nose probing the air for the unfamiliar scent. It smelled of sweet flowers and sunshine - or that unidentifiable scent of someone who spent much of their time outdoors. He paused inside the barn and glanced at the door to his right. Someone was living in the quarters now. He could smell the lingering of the Prof's cologne, so he knew it was someone who had been invited, but he wanted to see for himself. He tested the door handle to see if it was locked- it was. Wolverine sighed deeply. He wasn't particularly known for his subtlety and didn't exercise it that often, but when push came to shove.... One claw popped out from under his skin and he delicately inserted it into the lock. He didn't want to incite any riots tonight. With a little jiggling and some fine maneuvering the lock clicked and the door swung open. Sniffing at the air, he entered cautiously, his ears alert to the sound of the shower shutting off and deep breathing from the occupant inside. He heard the hiss of the shower curtain and the tick of the bathroom door open. Turning around he gazed at the door behind him and the pictures on the walls. He'd never been here before and it held a musty smell he couldn't pinpoint  
  
"Identify yourself" There was the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked behind him and he froze. Turning slowly, one blue eye and then the other came in contact with what would be any man's wet dream if not for the reality of the weapon in her hands. A nude woman, probably in her mid to late twenties stood before him, her legs spread in a steady stance, gun held in her outstretched arms, the muzzle most definitely trained on him. Something told him she wouldn't miss either. He tipped his head to one side and took her in; not all muscle but too squishy either. Well proportioned he would say. Her damp chestnut hair hung down her back and there were hard lines around her dark green eyes that warned him not to try his luck.  
  
"Logan" he answered as he finished his once over  
  
"What do you want and why are you in my room?" Direct, to the point. He liked that. Of course, it would be tough to sweet talk his way out of it, but he never considered himself a good liar. Honesty was the best policy until you've said too much and had to hack up a few bodies. The real trick was telling the truth and making it work for you.  
  
"I smelled you" he responded. She arched an eyebrow  
  
"Quite the ladies man I see" And she was a smartass. She most certainly was going to fit in around here. He could smell her nervousness, but determination underlie that and the scent that was entirely her own. He shrugged. The sooner she got clothes on the better off they both would be. He could see little goosebumps rising on her arms and he said gruffly  
  
"Get some clothes on darlin, I'm not here to hurt you" She regarded him for a moment and then relaxed her stance.  
  
"Close the door Logan, you're letting in the cold air" she answered as she walked back into the other room. Logan complied and swung the door shut, acutely aware of the fact that she had neither uncocked nor put down the gun and could have it ready in an instant. "Would you like anything to drink?" she asked as she came back in view, this time in sweat pants and a tee shirt that didn't hide how cold she was. Never should turn a lady down, he thought, especially not one with a gun.  
  
"Got any whiskey?" he inquired. She casually laid the firearm on the counter next to her hand as she reached for two glasses.  
  
"Is tea ok?" she responded without acknowledging his question. He shrugged, it wasn't worth getting shot over he supposed. He wasn't so worried about himself, his healing factor would take care, but he tried to avoid getting shot at whenever he could, "So Logan, what brings you to my humble abode?" 


End file.
